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City West Golf Course

City West and PGA National Ireland, Co Kildare

PGA National Ireland, Citywest, Co Kildare

If you are fortunate enough to pay a visit to either of the two magnificent golf courses at Citywest Hotel, Conference, Leisure & Golf Resort you could soon be having a similar experience to the one that Christy O’Connor Jnr had when he faced that long carry over water to the 18th green in the 1989 Ryder Cup.

Indeed the 18th hole on The Championship course is one of the great finishing holes in Ireland and with its imposing lakes and gushing fountain it has a real Belfry feel to it. This viewpoint is very much held by Christy O’Connor Jnr who reckons “The 16th, 17th and 18th represent one of the best finishing stretches in Ireland”.

In addition to golf, Citywest Hotel offers a variety of restaurants & bars, a state of the art Health & Leisure Centre as well as an extensive choice of hotel accommodation. This makes the resort a golfers paradise and an ideal venue to take a relaxing break and forget about the trials and tribulations of everyday life.

PGA National

The 7419 yard PGA National Ireland Golf Course gives its players a feeling of tradition, excellence and quality. The holes are set amidst thousands of mature trees that boast a variety of colour throughout all four seasons.

When you arrive, you soon realise that Palmerstown House has the capability to become a great course on the Irish and European golfing map. Every hole has its own individual charm and no two holes are similar. It is nearly impossible to pick a signature hole for Palmerstown House because every hole has its own individual charm.

Christy O’Connor Junior is an Irish golfing legend whose golfing exploits and charisma has touched the hearts of golf enthusiasts globally. Indeed who can forget Christy’s contribution in the 1989 Ryder cup at the Belfry when he hit a magnificent two iron into the 18th green to secure a one up victory against Fred Couples and helped Europe to a 14-14 tie and retention of the Ryder cup.

While Christy O’Connor, Jnr, is undoubtedly best known for his golfing exploits on the course, over a short period of time he has also earned a formidable reputation as a golf course designer.

To date Christy has been involved in over 30 golf course design projects around the world. In Ireland he is best known for Galway Bay, Rathsallagh, Esker Hills, Headfort, Glasson and the two golf courses at Citywest Hotel. He believes that The PGA National Ireland at Palmerstown House has the potential to become one of Europe’s best courses and below is some of Christy’s quotes about this magnificent golf course.

‘ It has to be one of the best sites in the world and reminds me of going of through the gates of Augusta and up Magnolia Lane at the Masters’

‘ The estate, with all the great racing thoroughbreds that have been produced here, is so steeped in history. It was probably one of the easiest jobs I have had to do. Beautiful mature trees, the lakes and bridges that were used as the entrance into the estate are incorporated into the golf course. It is a fantastic spectacle’

Golf Estates Manager Michael Merrigan is the son of renowned golf course architect, Patrick Merrigan. Michael has a diploma in golf course management from Elwood College in Scotland and also studied at Myersclough College in Preston where he completed a Higher National Diploma in Turf Management.
Starting out his working life at Delgany in County Wicklow, Michael has worked in the United Kingdom on the Jack Nicklaus London Golf Club before moving to Germany where he was involved in projects at Bad Orb Golf Club and then at Neu Isenburg Golf Club.

Michael has also been involved in numerous golf design and construction project while working with the Merrigan Family Design Team.

More recently, he has been working as Golf Course Superintendent at Citywest Hotel